How does a business find new markets for its products? Or vice versa? There are probably as many answers to the above questions as there are people in the world. How do you become aware of opportunities that may not be obvious? Take a cue from noted visionaries, futurists such as Faith Popcorn, Alvin Toffler, Peter Drucker, Watts Wacker, and Paul Saffo. Practice divergent thinking, adopt the habit of reading just about everything you can find, particularly newspapers and magazines, but also fiction and non-fiction books. Open your own mail and skim all of it, even the direct mail catalogs. Regularly walk through malls, shopping centers, grocery stores. Notice new products, especially when you are out of town. Attend the theatre and symphony. Go to the movies. Watch TV news programs and talk shows. Listen to radio news and talk stations. Surf the Net. Use search engines, check out websites. Recognize the incredible source of information that is at your finger-tips. It is a great research tool and incredibly inexpensive. Don't forget the good old-fashioned library. Visit it. Attend seminars, conferences, trade association meetings, workshops, and dialogue with peers.
To expand your marketing potential, become a trend watcher. Pay attention to signals that flash in certain categories of news. Use current trends as a reference point with an eye toward making trend connections for the future. New food products, trendy restaurants, best-selling cookbooks, Transformations in the family structure, i.e., family values. Shifts in the workplace. The environment, are people motivated to change? The economy is the fear level high? The overall cultural mood is it anxious or hopeful? Be certain you are aware of areas of potential growth. Some of the industries expected to experience significant growth this decade are Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, Health Care, Security, Wireless Technology. Pay attention to signals that flash in certain categories of news. Use current trends as a reference point with an eye toward making trend connections for the future. For example any new product introductions, successful or not. The overall mood of society, anxious or hopeful? Had you conducted a survey on September 10, global terrorism would not have made the top 10 concerns. The economy is the fear level high? The environment, are people motivated to change Do customers want values or value? Are trust, respect, honesty more important than low prices, quality, service? Atmosphere worries about bacteria and germs fear about Ecoli, Mad Cow Disease, Anthrax, Swine Flu increased sales of bottled water and anti-bacterial soap.
Why? Because it is all too easy to become obsessed by that which you do every day and ignore the bigger picture from which all great marketing ideas are derived. And, when you are acutely aware of all that is presently occurring around you, you will be better equipped to ask the questions that will produce answers that ensure you plan a successful future. To quote Peter Drucker, One of the specific qualities of knowledge is that it makes itself obsolete very fast. Skills last unchanged for centuries, knowledge changes every few years. If you do not renew knowledge often and thoroughly, you become obsolete and fall behind.
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